Imprisoned ex-sheriff Robert Arnold and two co-defendants have paid a combined $52,500 as part of the Rutherford County proceeds for electronic cigarette sales to inmates, a prosecution spokesman said.

"Restitution has been paid in full by all three," said David Boling, the spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nashville.

Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold(Photo: Grayson County Detention Center)

The restitution was based on a $5 cut per sale of electronic cigarette. JailCigs offered this proceeds to jails outside Rutherford County but initially withheld information about this business to local officials.

In Rutherford County, JailCigs revenues came to $156,975 without any money prior to convictions being shared with the government, a prosecutor said during Arnold's plea hearing.

The county has received about two-thirds of the restitution from the U.S. Treasury, Finance Director Lisa Nolen said. One payment to the county of $33,792.25 arrived May 2018 and $25 came in the following month.

In addition to restitution, Arnold and Russell must pay back the money they earned from JailCigs, according to sentence rulings.

Arnold's total forfeiture was $66,790. He has paid $17,575 as of April 2018, leaving a balance of $49,215.

Russell's forfeiture was $52,234.41. He's paid $18,257.75 as of April 2018, leaving a balance of $33,976.66.

Russell will be released soon

Arnold is serving a 50-month sentence at a minimum-security federal prison camp located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. He's scheduled to be released May 14, 2020, records show.

Russell was sentenced to 15 months after pleading guilty to wire fraud, honest services fraud and extortion in January 2017. Russell is scheduled to be released next week from a Residential Reentry Management field office in the Nashville area, records show.

Vanderveer was released on Dec. 14. He pleaded guilty January 2017 to attempted witness tampering after prosecutors said he tried to persuade a sales representative to destroy documents linking Arnold and Russell to the sale of JailCigs to Rutherford County inmates.